This invention relates to xe2x80x9cwearable electronicsxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cwearable computersxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9csmart fabricsxe2x80x9d and the like and more particularly to a data or power transmission ribbon made of knitted, woven, or braided textile fibers but also including integral transmission elements, e.g., conductive wires or optical fibers.
The idea ofxe2x80x9cwearable computersxe2x80x9d and electronic circuits built entirely out of textiles to distribute data and power and designed to perform functions such as touch sensing was first fully described in a disclosure called xe2x80x9cSmart Fabric, or Washable Computingxe2x80x9d by E. Rehmi Post and Maggie Orth of the MIT Media Laboratory available on the Internet at http:/www.media.mit.edu/%7EREHMI/fabric/index.html and also on pp. 167-8 of the Digest of Papers of the First IEEE International Symposium on Wearable Computers, Oct. 13-14, 1997 held in Cambridge, Mass.
Prior to the applicant""s invention described herein, electrical or electronic components were sometimes fastened to articles of clothing or placed in pouches or pockets. Individual wires between these components were then fastened to the outside of the clothing or disposed partially or wholly in seams and the like. In this way, a soldier could xe2x80x9cwearxe2x80x9d a radio and a computer and/or global positioning satellite system. Consumers, in turn, could, for example, xe2x80x9cwearxe2x80x9d a cellular telephone connected to a headset or a speaker and/or microphone located on the collar of a jacket.
The problem with this design is that the wires are separate from the textile material of the clothing. As a result, the wires are unsightly and uncomfortable, do not wear well, can catch and tangle on objects, reduce mobility, add weight, are not washable, and are not resistant to corrosion. In general, such a design is not very robust.
Therefore, those skilled in the art sought to integrate the electronic circuits and data and power conductors within the textile of the articles of clothing themselves. See the MIT disclosure referred to above and incorporated herein by this reference. In the MIT reference, metallic yarn forms the weft of the fabric and, running in the other direction, plain silk thread forms the warp of the fabric. Surface mount light emitting diodes (LED""s), crystal piezo transducers, and other surface mount components are then soldered directly onto the metallic yarn.
But, since the metallic yarn only runs in one direction, communications and interconnections between the electronic devices can only take place in that direction. Worse, the individual metallic yarns which do not electrically interconnect two components must be cut to provide electrical isolation for the individual metallic yarns which do electrically interconnect two components. This design thus raises serious design concerns, namely manufacturability, shielding, and electrical interference. Moreover, the fabric including the soldered on electronic components is delicate, cannot be washed, and is uncomfortable to wear. Finally, if the fabric is folded back on itself, an electrical short will occur. Thus, special insulative coatings or substrates must be used which further render the fabric uncomfortable to wear.
Others have designed textile fabrics with conductive fibers for electrically interconnecting two electronic components. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,080,690 and 5,906,004 incorporated herein by this reference. Again, the main idea is that the whole garment is made of this special fabric. As such, a sensor can be electrically connected to a controller right on the garment. Still, routing of the data or power between the devices is limited without extensive formation of electrical junctions in the fabric xe2x80x94a very cumbersome manufacturing process. In addition, such garments are also uncomfortable and cannot withstand repeated wash cycles. See also U.S. Pat. No. 3,414,666 incorporated herein by this reference.
Before the invention described herein, no one to our knowledge has designed textile materials with integrated data or power buses which are simple to manufacture, pleasing in appearance, comfortable, washable, which wear well, which do not add significant weight, which are corrosion resistant, which do not impede mobility, which exhibit high fatigue strengths, and which also properly meet or exceed the electrical interface and shielding requirements of the specific application be it military or consumer-based.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a novel and more robust data and/or power transmission device.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a data or power transmission device which is made of a textile material with integrated data and/or power buses.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a data or power transmission device which is simple to manufacture and pleasing in appearance.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a data or power transmission device which is comfortable to wear and which has a long wear life.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a data or power transmission device which is able to withstand repeated wash cycles.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a data or power transmission device which is not susceptible to corrosion and which exhibits a high fatigue strength.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a data or power transmission device which meets or exceeds the electrical interference and/or shielding requirements of the specific application it is used for.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a data or power transmission device which is versatile in design.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a data or power transmission device which is transferable from one garment to another garment.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a device which does not impede the mobility of the wearer of the device.
The invention results from the realization that the shortcomings of current xe2x80x9cwearable electronicsxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cwearable computer systemsxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9csmart fabricsxe2x80x9d, namely, a lack of comfort and durability, can be overcome, not by manufacturing a garment out of a textile fabric with conductive fibers, but, instead, by knitting, weaving, or braiding a textile ribbon with selvage edges and including transmission elements which extend or run the length of the ribbon and then attaching the ribbon to a comfortable and durable garment between two electronic or electrical devices on the garment such that the transmission elements in the ribbon optically or electrically interconnect the two devices. The ribbon thus becomes an integral part of the textile item without suffering from the limitations associated with prior art textile articles with electronic circuits and data and power conductors formed therein. Moreover, the ribbon can be releasably attached to the garment or textile item thus allowing it to be transferred between, for example, different articles of clothing.
This invention features a data or power transmission device including a knitted, woven, or braided textile ribbon including fibers and having a length and selvage edges; and one or more transmission elements running the length of the ribbon in place of one or more of the fibers and integrated with the fibers to transmit data and/or power along the length of the ribbon. Typically, the one or more transmission elements are separated by non-conductive fibers. But, in other embodiments, a plurality of the fibers are also conductive.
If the transmission device is a data bus, there are typically at least two transmission elements insulated from each other by the fibers. For a universal serial bus, four transmission elements are provided and insulated from each other by the fibers.
The transmission elements may be solid wire, tinsel wire, conductive fibers, polymers fibers coated or doped with a conductive material, optical fibers, and combinations of the same. As such, each transmission element may be bare, insulated, or shielded, or both insulated and shielded.
In one embodiment, the ribbon is knitted and includes wales and courses of overlapping fibers and transmission elements. In another embodiment, the ribbon is woven and includes weft and warp fibers. Typically, the transmission elements replace one or more warp fibers but not the weft fibers. In another embodiment, the transmission elements replace one or more weft fibers but not the warp fibers. In yet another embodiment, the transmission elements may replace all or certain fibers in both the warp and weft directions. If the ribbon is braided, it may include axial fibers and bias fibers. The transmission elements typically replace one or more axial fibers but not the bias fibers. In another embodiment, the transmission elements replace one or more bias fibers. In still another embodiment, the transmission elements replace all or certain fibers in both the axial and bias directions.
The fibers may be grouped together in the form of yams. The fibers are also selected from a wide class of natural or synthetic fibers.
In the preferred embodiment, the ribbon is narrow woven and may have more than one face. But, if ribbon is knitted, it may also include more than one face. In still other embodiments, the ribbon forms an antenna, a simple power bus, a fire wire bus or a coaxial bus.
A wearable data or power transmission system in accordance with this invention features a garment, a first subsystem, a second subsystem, and a knitted, woven, or braided textile ribbon having a length which extends between the first and second subsystems. The ribbon includes fibers, selvage edges, and one or more transmission elements running the length of the ribbon in place of one or more of the fibers. Each transmission element is connectable on one end to the first subsystem connectable on the other end to the second subsystem to establish a data or power transmission link between the first and second subsystems. The first subsystem is typically attached at one location on the garment, the second subsystem may be attached at a second location on the garment or elsewhere, and the ribbon is then attached to the garment between the first and second subsystems.
The first subsystem and the second subsystem may be power sources, electrical devices, electronic systems, electronic devices, optical devices or sensors, and combinations of the same. In one embodiment, the ribbon forms a data or power bus between the first and second subsystems. In another embodiment, the ribbon forms an antenna.
The subject invention, however, is not limited to wearable garments. For any textile article, the data or power transmission system includes a first subsystem, a second subsystem, and a knitted, woven, or braided textile ribbon having a length which extends between the first and second subsystems. The ribbon includes fibers, selvage edges, and one or more transmission elements running the length of the ribbon in place of one or more of the fibers. Each transmission element is connectable on one end to the first subsystem and connectable on the other end to the second subsystem to establish a data or power transmission link between the first and second subsystems. The textile article (e.g., a tent, parachute, blanket or car seat cover) may include the first and second subsystems or one or both subsystems may be remote from the textile article.